TV series
Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.
Availability
Checked Sep 1, 2026
The Singing Detective premiered November 16, 1986. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.
Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
Pulp thriller writer Philip Marlow is in hospital with the skin complaint psoriasis, tormented by his past and threatened by his future. His memories, his 1930s-style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.
Directed by Jon AmielWritten by Dennis PotterGuest stars Leslie French, Lyndon Davies, Geff Francis, Patrick Malahide, Imelda Staunton, Simon Chandler, Kate McKenzie, Mary MacLeod
Episode 2
Dennis Potter's drama about a patient struggling to keep his sanity, with the help of his alter ego, the singing private eye. Marlow faces a talking cure with a psychologist.
Directed by Jon AmielWritten by Dennis PotterGuest stars Patrick Malahide, Leslie French, Lyndon Davies, Geff Francis, Jim Carter, Alison Steadman, Imelda Staunton, Janet Henfrey
Episode 3
While in hospital with psoriasis, Marlow thinks back to the war when he was a little boy, and remembers seeing his mother having illicit sex in the Forest of Dean. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.
Directed by Jon AmielWritten by Dennis PotterGuest stars Patrick Malahide, Leslie French, Lyndon Davies, Geff Francis, Jim Carter, Alison Steadman, Imelda Staunton, Janet Henfrey
Episode 4
Marlow as a child visits London, but is not impressed. A film option on Marlow's novel thickens the plot. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.
Directed by Jon AmielWritten by Dennis PotterGuest stars Patrick Malahide, Leslie French, Lyndon Davies, Geff Francis, Jim Carter, Alison Steadman, Janet Henfrey, Simon Chandler
Episode 5
Marlow is getting better and the different strands of his fiction and reality begin to occupy the same time and place.
Directed by Jon AmielWritten by Dennis PotterGuest stars Patrick Malahide, Leslie French, Lyndon Davies, Geff Francis, Jim Carter, Alison Steadman, Imelda Staunton, Janet Henfrey
Episode 6
The young Philip Marlow returns to the country railway station following his mother's death in London. Forty years on, Marlow the hospital patient still dreams about the homecoming and the frightening figure of the scarecrow that now erupts into the ward.
Directed by Jon AmielWritten by Dennis PotterGuest stars Patrick Malahide, Leslie French, Lyndon Davies, Geff Francis, Jim Carter, Alison Steadman, Imelda Staunton, Janet Henfrey
Episode information updated Sep 17, 2026
Available now in United States
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BBC OneUnited Kingdom
BBCUnited Kingdom
Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralia
